


The Truth

by UniquelyQueer_67



Series: Professor Hunithson and the Band of Misfits Who Refuse to Mind Their Own Damn Business [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Aliases, Aromantic, Asexual Character, Comedy, Draco Malfoy & Ron Weasley Friendship, Drama, Established Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Established Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, Investigations, Luna Lovegood is a Good Friend, M/M, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Nonbinary Character, Not Epilogue Compliant, Oblivious, Poison, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Secret Relationship, The Golden Trio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UniquelyQueer_67/pseuds/UniquelyQueer_67
Summary: The Golden Quartet continue to investigate their mysterious professors with the help of several other students, but they also have to stop a neo-Death Eater from killing one of them.Draco and Harry also have to keep their budding relationship a secret.Eventually, the truth unfolds, for everyone.(Sequel to Investigations of Funny Business, not sure if it could be read as a stand alone but go ahead.)
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Professor Hunithson and the Band of Misfits Who Refuse to Mind Their Own Damn Business [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1535807
Comments: 408
Kudos: 759





	1. Every Story Needs a Good-Old-Fashioned Villain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avidia Agricola: The Potions Master

Avidia Agricola had been watching the Defence professor for a while. He made it his business to know the names and faces of all the pure-bloods left after the war, of which this _Hunithson_ was none. Appointing him Head of House was an insult to the noble Salazar Slytherin himself, and Avidia wouldn't stand for it.

He began to harbour a seething hatred for the man. But when the young mudblood convinced the headmistress to hire a putrid _squib_ , and teach _muggle_ defence, the professor knew that man was going to be trouble. And hatred turned to morbid resentment.

But, he did not despair. For it was like his mother had always said prior to her untimely end; poison in a man's tea is the most efficient form of pest control.

That was part of the reason Avidia took the job of potions master in the first place; an ample selection of rare ingredients to access unhindered. Which was why it was so easy for him to brew a batch of Living Death without a single interruption or prying eye. 

After all, it's on the curriculum.

Avidia chuckled to himself as he added the juices of the red beans; once he got a hold of them of course, they had a tendency to run from the blade. Ironic, humans tended to do that too.

When the batch was brewed to perfection, he sampled a few drops onto a leaf. The foliage crumbled to dust.

"Goodbye, _professor Phoenix_." Avidia spat as he poured some of the brew into a glass bottle. He put on the cork stopper and held the container up to the light, watching the poison shift and flow, death in his grip but not able to touch him. He was completely in control. 

He was doing good, honest work.

If only the Dark Lord could see him now...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just a teaser for the rest of the fic, to keep you interested. Don't expect regular updates as this fic is still being written and, like the previous one, I don't want to start updating regularly until it's finished. That may be a while, but regular comments, Kudos, and general encouragement always motivates me to write better and more often, so..... Wink wink 😉


	2. Preoccupied

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry POV

It just kept bugging him. Harry knew Elwyn was hiding something, and it seemed extremely likely that McGonagall was involved as well… Had he told her everything during that meeting? After all, he did say he had a request…

But that was just before the Christmas break, and then Lionel showed up…

"It must have something to do with Lionel Phoenix…" Harry finally mused out loud. Then he heard an exasperated groan from just under his ear.

"Can we not do this right now?" said Draco, backing away slightly.

"What? I know you want answers too," said Harry, already missing the proximity.

"Of course I do," the Slytherin sighed, "but there is a time and a place."

"Why not right here, right now?"

"Because 'right here' is a dark broom cupboard, and 'right now' is me trying to kiss your stupid neck while you obsess over the mystery of our gay defense teachers." Draco deadpanned.

Harry laughed, self-deprecating. It was rare that he and Draco got to spend  _ private time _ together, because neither wanted to tell their friends about their relationship. And it wasn't like they could make the excuse of investigating their professors, because they could both do that _ with _ their friends.

So Harry tucked that thought away to bring up another time with Ron and Hermione.

"Sorry," he mumbled. From the little he could see of Draco in the cupboard, he smiled, and began crowding Harry against the wall again.

"Make it up to me?" he asked, and Harry kissed him for his troubles.

Admittedly, he was rather enjoying being Draco's secret boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is taking a while and I need to keep the hype up, so here's another chapter, eat up. And also bear with me 😅   
> Also, boyfriends! Boyfriends!!!! BOYFRIENDS!!!!!!!


	3. Speculation And Scandal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #ACTUAL CHAPTER THIS TIME#

Once both boys were thoroughly tuckered out - and late to lunch - they fixed their rumpled appearances and subtly exited the broom cupboard.

They then chatted about nothing in particular as they made their way into the Great Hall. Amongst the sea of jabbering students, the pair's eyes landed on their friends' seats, and they both hurried to join.

"You're both quite late..." Luna observed distantly, from her perch between Ginny and Neville, before continuing to listen to the latter excitedly babble about a new plant species he'd sampled from over 100 years ago.

"Doing more sleuthing without us?" Asked Ron, with a mouth full of sausages, "Didn't miss much. McGonagall dropped a glass on the floor though, classic."

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," Hermione gently chastised her boyfriend, " _but did you find anything?_ ” she finished, enthused.

"Well…" Draco began, slightly more annoyed than usual. One wonders why...

"I think it's all centred around professor Phoenix!" Harry finished for him.

"Cool name." Blaise remarked, because _he_ would.

"You were there when they introduced him, Blaise." Said Pansy. 

"Doesn't make it less cool…" the boy muttered in reply.

"That's besides the point," said Draco, to the group at large, "the _point is_ , more of the secrets surrounding those two seem to be about Lionel, than Elwyn-"

"Case in point, a meeting Draco and I overheard between McGonagall and Hunithson about a 'request' he had for her." Harry proudly interrupted.

"Yes…" Draco rolled eyes at his boyfriend before continuing, "Which was already suspicious considering his observed behaviour before that. But then shortly after the meeting and subsequent holidays, Phoenix joined the Hogwarts staff; late in the year, and in a position which had previously not existed-"

"Which suggests that the request was that McGonagall hire him. Which is odd because all he's ever taught has been non-magical skills, and I've never even _seen_ Lionel with a wand…" Harry interrupted again.

"Exactly, so he-"

"Can't be very good with spells. So he's obviously not well fitted to assist a _Defense_ teacher. Plus, McGonagall is an immovable object, it would take the minister _himself_ recommending Lionel _personally_ , to get the man that job. So how did Elwyn convince her? It's all just a load of things that don't make- _ow!_ " Harry yelped as Draco kicked him in the shin under the table.

"- _any sense._ " Draco finished for him.

"Okay," said Hermione, "then we focus our efforts on finding out how Lionel got the job."

"I just don't understand why he doesn't have a wand." Ron raised a surprisingly good point.

"Maybe he's a squib." Said Ginny, with a shrug.

As the group considered this, a ruckus broke out at the teachers' table. 

Halting their speculation, they all hurried toward the commotion.

Draco made it first, slipping through the tightly packed crowd that had quickly gathered, to find their headmistress lying face down on the polished wood, holding a spilled glass of pumpkin juice.

Madam Pomfrey elbowed the blond out of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I've hit fuck it. I've ONE chapter left to write (I also added a couple extra lol). But I've pretty much just decided to start posting as regularly as I can. I'll aim for once a week, but I have a shitty internal clock and a shitty memory and also there's a global pandemic. So I'm just gonna....... Just .......... Here you go.........


	4. A Stray Arrow May Yet Cause Harm

The only sounds in the sterile hospital wing were that of Draco's unnecessarily expensive shoes tapping frantically against polished linoleum, and Madam Pomfrey, fussing over the headmistress. The curtain was quickly whipped open, then shut again just as quickly after the healer stepped out. Draco looked up at her knitted brows and felt his stomach twist.

"What happened?" he asked. Pomfrey offered him a gentle smile.

"Poison, dear. Living Death, to be specific - you're lucky she was brought here in time."

"Will she be alright?"

"I've no doubt she will make a full recovery, Mr Malfoy. But she will have to be transferred to St. Mungo's for intensive care."

Draco felt puzzled.

"Who will run the school?" Pomfrey pulled a stern face at that.

"Ideally, the deputy head. But she has told me she insists on continuing work. I should have expected as much from Minerva. So I convinced her to collaborate with a teacher she trusts."

"Who?"

"Professor Hunithson, Mr Malfoy."

Just then, the door burst open, only for the intruder to be aggressively shushed by the healer witch. Tattered trainers skidded along the immaculate floors to stop directly in front of Draco where he sat. He only just noticed he was standing. He'd stood up the moment Harry Potter came barreling in through the door. Merlin, he really was gone for this eccentric fool.

"Harry." He greeted, with a neutral, if slightly irritated expression. Standard.

"Draco!" Scar-head beamed, panting and flushed from the run (and skid) across the wing. His hair was messier than usual. Draco wanted to run his hands through it.

"Any luck in the investigation?" Asked the blond. After they had both been escorted from the wing for waking up McGonagall; ( _ "Now I'll never get her to rest!" _ Despaired Poppy).

"Yes! The glass was poisoned, not the wine. Otherwise more people would've been afflicted," Harry began, "But here's my theory, if I can even call it that; McGonagall wasn't the target."

"Why are you so reluctant to call it a theory?" Asked Draco, cocking a brow.

"Because I know I'm right," Harry deadpanned. Draco's brow just raised higher, "and I know that I'm right because the goblet wasn't originally McGonagall's." Realisation suddenly dawned on Draco.

"Didn't she break hers?" He blurted, "She dropped it on the floor, Ron told us." Harry beamed again, this boy would be the death of him. He planned on kissing that mouth when they found somewhere private.

"Exactly! But did you see whose glass she got afterwards?"

"Of course not, we weren't there-"

"Oh shut up I'm trying to be charming and clever," this made Draco smile, a little, "Anyway,  _ Lionel _ offered our old friend Minerva  _ his _ glass."

"Don't tell me you think he poisoned her,  _ please _ ." Draco groaned. Harry gave him a scandalised look.

" _ What _ ? No, he doesn't even have a motive! Besides he couldn't have predicted  _ McGonagall _ dropping her glass, she's above such things.  _ My _ theory is that Lionel was the  _ intended target _ . We're dealing with a botched assassination attempt."

"Well, I know all about those." Said Draco sarcastically.

"Are you sure it's not too soon to make jokes about your numerous failed attempts at murdering Albus Dumbledore?" Harry cringed.

"Might as well laugh at the pain, it's not like I can change what happened…" Draco sighed, trying not to look downcast. 

Harry saw right through him though, and grabbed his wrist before setting off at a run.

Next thing Draco knew they were snogging in the far corner of the restricted section, but that was only because Harry lost their game of Wizard chess. Saint Potter always knew how to cheer him up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late but I got it up! I finally finished the last chapter, I think we're good to go!  
> I really hope you guys enjoy this one 💛


	5. A Letter From Days Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set shortly after Arthur's return in Investigations Of Funny Business (my previous fic).

Dear Not-Arthur,

I know these letters are supposed to be for only you to read. But I think I'll keep this one.

You've come back! I honestly have no idea how to properly convey my joy on paper… I'm at a complete loss!

It's been a little difficult adjusting but I'm getting used to it.

You've started sleeping in my bed… Which is fine! Because whenever one of us suggested sleeping on the floor the other insisted otherwise. But it's getting increasingly difficult to hide my admittedly... inappropriate feelings towards you.

Especially since you've started treating me less like a servant and more like, I don't know, someone you care about? And making all these heartfelt speeches about all the credit I was denied, and the apologies for the way living under your father's laws made me and my people feel. Because you always got that determined look in your eye when you made your inspiring speeches back in Camelot. And as much warmth as that look brought me, it's nothing compared to the way your eyes sparkle with such sincerity when you make those speeches now. I can't take it, Arthur.

And  especially  now that I've been teaching you about the wizarding world. I expected you to be reluctant, but you've thrown yourself into your studies headlong! I'm sure people are starting to get suspicious of all the books I keep checking out of the library…

And whenever we talk about how the wizarding world has grown, you get so excited! And not even for yourself, all you ever go on about is how happy you are that  my  people get this. How proud you are of  me  , how happy you are that  my  life is so much less shrouded by fear.

If you keep talking like that I'm going to fall even more in love with you…

And not to mention the  clothes  I've brought you. Oh Gods help me but you've never looked so handsome.

It'll never live up to your ceremonial armour, but you're just as proud to wear wizarding robes as you are to wear the Pendragon crest, and it makes my heart flutter to see and think about.

For some reason you still insist I help you dress and undress. Though I suppose it's because wizard robes are a bit of a chore to put on, so you're probably just being lazy. But your royal laziness is putting me in a world of suffering!

I can't believe I never realised the inherent intimacy and - let's face it, I'm a grown man - eroticism of putting on and taking off someone's clothing everyday.

I suppose it was the habit. The familiarity of it.

Ugh, I solemnly swear I'll never show this letter to another living soul.

Arthur - I love you with every ounce of magic I possess - and I'm the most powerful sorcerer to have ever walked the earth…

Yours, for as long as you need me,

_Merlin, Son of Hunith_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter pertains to the events described in chapter 7 of IOFB.
> 
> I can't believe it's Saturday again already! I almost forgot to post today! 😅  
> Hope y'all don't mind the interruption of the story for some merthur fluff
> 
> (Sidenote: i actually added this chapter later, as I felt that merthur was a little underdeveloped in my previous fic, and I wondered what it'd be like if Merlin continued writing the letters as more of a diary. I also wanted to describe their interactions and living situation during that weird transition period between Arthur being resurrected, and the two of them smooching in the last fic. Anyway, that was my thought process, in case y'all were curious. Have a nice day <3 )


	6. Sloth-Like Sleuthing

"McGonagall is in St. Mungo's, we're without a single suspect, and you two have been gone for  _ an hour! _ ” Hermione scolded Harry and Draco as they entered the library. She had a large book of poisons opened in front of her, and a very tired Ron was sitting next to her.

Harry felt kind of sorry for him, in all honesty. It'd been an entire month since the failed attempt on their professor's life, and so far they had nothing but the type of poison, and a possible motive.

"At least we know the suspect was probably a blood supremacist," Draco came to their joint defense, "the most likely motive is that they probably wanted to kill Lionel because he's either a squib or a muggle-born."

"Thanks to me," Ron injected, "you know that thanks to me. Because I listen to my best mate when he rambles about Elwyn stealing old books."

"Thanks mate." Said Harry, earnestly.

"Well the least you can do after abandoning us like that is to help brainstorm with us." Said Hermione, still marginally irritated. Understandable, Harry thought, it was understandable rage.

"Fair point." Harry shrugged, joining them at the table (that they could barely see under all the books Hermione spread across its surface).

There was quite a long, awkward silence then, as Draco settled next to Harry. Hermione was passionately zipping her gaze from book to book, occasionally asking Ron to move them in a specific way. Harry flicked the corner of the page of the nearest book to him, and looked up at Ron. The redhead smiled politely at him, and Harry returned the gesture, then they both looked down again. Then the dark-haired man felt something touch his leg. He resisted the urge to flinch and reached under the table, searching for what touched him. He found Draco's hand, and took it. 

He actually quite liked how casually affectionate Draco was; even if he preferred to do it in private, he would still find a way in public as long as he wasn't seen. Harry kind of wanted to tell their friends at the point they were at, because he was getting pretty serious about Draco. But the blond was still apprehensive, so Harry kept it secret. He was fine with it, as long as Draco was comfortable, and knew how much he cared about him.

Harry hoped he did. As he flicked the page corner, he let his thoughts spiral. How long had Draco actually liked him? Why the hell hadn't he asked that question yet? And the like. That is, until Luna and Ginny sauntered over to the table. 

"Yikes you both look miserable…" Ginny observed. She was trying to be sympathetic, but Draco had let go of Harry's hand.

"Are you still investigating Elwyn?" Asked Luna.

"Obviously." Hermione answered half heartedly from nose-deep in a book.

"It's not  _ that _ obvious." Ginny defended the blonde. Hermione inhaled sharply, before Luna elaborated on Ginny's more than offensive observation.

"She's right," Hermione sputtered indignantly for a moment, "You're in the library. If you want to investigate Elwyn, you should go somewhere he keeps all his personal items."

"We searched his classroom once before, it's just full of old junk." Said Ron with a sigh, but Hermione looked thoughtful.

"Maybe that was only because we thought we  _ knew _ what we were looking for…" She trailed off, before suddenly standing up, and frantically closing books.

"What are you doing?" Asked Harry.

"Maybe the answer _ is _ the old junk!" She squealed (the librarian shushed them).

Wait, that was…

"Hermione that's brilliant!" Draco loudly whispered.

"Why did we never think of that before?" Said Harry, and he was genuinely confused as to why they hadn't searched Elwyn's classroom more thoroughly.

They made plans to do it, as they always did, when it was way past their assigned curfew. 

At night, they planned to raid Elwyn's classroom at night. When everyone else was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUCK  
> I forgot to update! Guys I'm so sorry I'm like 3 days late! 😭  
> Please enjoy this chapter 🙏  
> (Also I was busy writing another small fic in celebration of reaching 1000 kudos on Investigations Of Funny Business!!!! So look out for that 😉)


	7. Aithusa

The day progressed extremely slowly. Which was extremely inconvenient.

However, impatience eventually gave way to actual preparation for the break-in, as lessons finally drew to a close. Harry had the invisibility cloak, and exited his dormitory into the eighth year common room. It was cosy, and decorated in a variety of colours, so as to celebrate House Unity.

The Boy Who Lived Twice was busy worrying about their mystery assassin's next move when Draco entered the common room. Ahead of schedule, like Harry.

"You're early." He observed intelligently.

Draco rolled his eyes and approached the Gryffindor, "I could hear you pacing from my dorm. Besides, I'm all set and I'd rather be here than sitting on my bed twiddling my thumbs…"

"Is that your way of saying you wanna spend time with your boyfriend?" Said Harry with a smirk.

Draco flushed slightly at the less-than-private usage of 'boyfriend'. But in answer to Harry's question, he gently took his hand.

The blond then pulled Harry over to the large overstuffed loveseat in a corner of the common room. And they kissed to pass the time, invisibility cloak draped over their entwined frames (in case they failed to notice someone barging in).

After a long time of fairly chaste kisses, Draco pulled away. 

"I have something to say," he bit the lip that Harry had previously nipped, "I want to tell people about us--" Harry immediately opened his mouth to speak, but Draco continued--" _ but _ , only after we figure out what's going on with our professors. Yeah?"

Harry thought about it. It could be good motivation to put real effort into the investigation, but just as easily could do the opposite. What if they never solved this? Exactly how flexible was Draco's request?

The man eventually decided to just trust his boyfriend's judgement. He smiled, and he kissed Draco.

  
  


Just then, a door creaking frightened the students into tossing the cloak off and jumping apart.

"You guys ready?" Asked Ron, his girlfriend trailing behind, with a familiar looking small bag.

"Are we going to fit  _ anything _ in that?" Draco asked sensibly. Hermione responded by shoving her arm into the bag up to her shoulder. Draco hummed in understanding, and then they were gone.

The four arrived quickly at Merlin's classroom, and Ron unlocked the door easily with a whispered  _ Allohamora _ . 

Stepping inside, wands lit, they were met with the same room filled to the brim with clutter.

Hermione cracked her knuckles, "Let's get started."

They all decided to search the room over time. Planning only to take a couple of items from a particular section of wall, return a few days later and focus on a different area, and replace the previously taken items.

A shimmer drew Harry's attention, and he reached for it. What he pulled out was made of some kind of polished gold and copper alloy, in the shape of a strange swirl, and inscribed on it were some old runes. 

He brought it to Hermione, who was studying ancient runes for her NEWTs.

She furrowed her brows at the artefact.

"These appear to be druidic runes, not uncommon for a collector," she then appeared to count the runes, hovering a fingertip over each one while her mouth formed numbers. One, two, three, one, two, three, "they're definitely bind runes, but…"

"What is it?" Said Draco, also studying ancient runes. Hermione handed him the shape, "oh...I see." The two met eyes for a moment, sharing a puzzled look.

"The bind runes are in threes. Which is extremely rare. Next to unheard of now. By all reliable accounts this item should've corroded into nothing." Draco explained, while their bushy-haired friend nodded along.

"Perhaps it was preserved with magic?" Ron volunteered.

"Perhaps," Hermione replied, "but even so, that would require the object to have been in Elwyn's family for generations."

"I'm sensing a twist…" Harry said, turning to Draco.

"These runes are at least a thousand years old, most likely closer to two thousand." He supplied.

There was a pause.

"Maybe not then…" Said Ron, eventually.

Hermione put the swirly thing ("It's a common druidic symbol, Harry. It's called a  _ Triskelion _ .") into her bag, then the group continued their search.

Harry spotted something behind where the Triskelion was, a broken piece of pottery on a velvet cushion.

The scarred man carefully lifted the shard and placed it in his palm. Only to very suddenly realise that it was not pottery.

"Uh… guys," he paged the group, who gathered around him, "is this pottery?"

Ron immediately snatched the shard, much to his girlfriend's distress.

"Mate…" he gasped, "it's a bit of egg shell," His voice was somewhat distant, " _ dragon _ egg shell…"

Hermione gasped, " _ What kind? _ " She asked excitedly.

Ron squinted at it, "Not sure. It's got the shell thickness of a bigger species, but these spots look like the ones from a smaller species Charlie mentioned… I dunno, 'Mione."

"Maybe ask your brother about it? I would pay the international owling fee, of course." The girl volunteered.

"Thanks, but how are we going to get it back to our dorms without breaking it?" Asked Ron.

"How about this?” came a familiar voice belonging to Draco Malfoy, who was pointing at a bit of red cloth around his neck.

"A handkerchief?" Said Ron, skeptical.

" _ Neck _ er, Ronald," the blond countered, "it's a neckerchief."

"Necker?," Asked the red head, "I don't even know her!"

Surprisingly, nobody laughed at Ron's joke.

But they did wrap the egg shell in the worn cloth, before carefully placing it in Hermione's bag.

"Well, gang," she announced, "I think it's time we made our exit. Wands out." Everyone's  _ lumos _ es faded, except Draco's, and the group filed under the cloak once more. Except Draco, of course. Being a prefect not only meant Draco got to penalise students, but also that he would be spared the torture of being trapped under an old, musty cloak with Ron's BO. Completely free of suspicion.

They made it back though, and went to their respective dorms. When Harry and Ron arrived in their shared dorm, the latter immediately began scribbling a rushed letter to his brother, looking at the egg shell for reference. Whereas Harry, went straight to sleep.

_ What if all this investigating only leads to more questions?  _ He wondered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda on time 👍 depending on what timezone you're in I guess 😂  
> Please enjoy 🙏 seriously I'm so glad people are enjoying reading these fics as much as I did writing them 😊  
> I've even got a fic in the works to celebrate Investigations Of Funny Business hitting 1k kudos!


	8. The King's Reckoning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feat. Charlie Weasley!

The letter they received back from Charlie was one of many emotions.

At first, he'd thought it was a prank. But the further Harry read into the letter, the more fascinated the Weasley brother became. That was until, by the end of the letter, he was demanding to see the sample himself.

_ It's clearly a dragon's egg _ , He'd written,  _ but it is completely unlike any species I know of. Believe me, Ron, I searched every book in my collection, this egg shouldn't exist. You must tell me where you found it, perhaps we've discovered a new species! Or maybe this is an egg from an extinct species. If that were the case, it would take near religious dedication to keep in a stasis charm for so long… _

_ If you send me the sample I could run some tests. _

_ Charlie  _ X

Hermione and Draco had further studied the Triskelion, but found absolutely nothing pertaining to its origin or purpose.

All they had learned was that Elwyn must've been the descendant of some talented magical artefact collectors.

"We know the Triskelion is ancient, what if the shell came from a similar timeframe?"

Draco posed to Hermione.

"It's unlikely, but we would need more artefacts to be sure…"

That afternoon, the four of them agreed to search Elwyn's classroom again. They already knew he had a rare dragon's egg shard, and an artefact with a lost past.

Who knows what they'd discover when the sun set over the castle.

\----------

They didn't want to risk being caught, so the four decided only two of them would go to the classroom that night. They voted that Ron and Hermione should go, and so they did.

The pair tiptoed through the dark corridors, the invisibility cloak shielding them from sight but not from ear.

What they did not expect, however, was to round the corner to the classroom, and bump directly into the two professors they were investigating. Causing the invisibility cloak to catch, tangle, and ultimately fall off.

All four people stumbled and momentarily lost their balance, muttering polite apologies to one another.

That was until, to Hermione's dismay, Professor Hunithson spoke.

"What are you two doing up so late?” he inquired with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Sneaking into the Restricted Section-" said Hermione.

"Sneaking out to snog-" said Ron, tastefully, at the same time.

Hermione visibly cringed, as the two professors shared an amused look.

"We were sneaking into the Restricted Section-" Ron began.

"-to snog." Hermione finished with faux confidence.

"At least they're honest." Said Lionel to his... coworker? Boyfriend? Lover? Hermione tried not to overthink it.

"I suppose. I'm happy for them, of course, but I do hope they don't do this often. For the sake of their sleep schedules." Elwyn mused back.

"Could you stop talking about us like we're not standing in front of you, please?” said Ron.

"Sorry," Elwyn smiled, "how are Draco and Harry doing?"

Hermione knew the question was more for the sake of politeness, but she couldn't help answering honestly when Hunithson looked at her like that.

"A bit out of sorts actually. They keep sneaking off to work on our project together - they're sometimes late to meals, or even lessons." She admitted.

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "we're glad they're so enthusiastic, but, I dunno… It's just odd."

The professors shared an almost conspiratorial look.

"Perhaps they're planning something for the two of you." Lionel speculated.

"Or maybe they feel they work well as a pair." Said Elwyn, with a private smile to the blond man next to him.

Hermione felt confused. But again, she didn't want to overthink it. Ron looked at her with uncertainty, and she shrugged.

"You two had better return to your dorms before any less lenient professors or prefects catch you." Elwyn advised them both.

"Squealers…" Ron muttered under his breath.

"You're not wrong," Said Lionel with a chuckle. Ron went a bit pink around the ears, "goodnight Ms Granger, Mr Weasley." 

Then they both went on their merry way, as if nothing had happened.

Hermione figured they might as well do the same. So they proceeded to break into the defense classroom, as planned.

Carefully, Ron replaced the egg shell and the Triskelion, while Hermione moved to the next section of the wall due to be searched. She took the first two items that caught her attention: an iron helmet, and a larger-than-average coin, containing more ancient runes.

She pocketed the coin, and the helmet was carried under her robes. While she herself was hidden by the cloak, as she and Ron made their journey back to their dorms.

Hermione slept with the  _ borrowed _ artefacts stowed safely under her bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a day late this week 👍  
> Hope y'all enjoy this chapter.  
> Btw if you're wanting to support the protestors demanding justice for George Floyd, a good Instagram account to follow is @anarchistbitches  
> Their stories and highlights are full of detailed info and advice and it's constantly being updated.  
> Stay safe, Black Lives Matter.


	9. Regarding Your Previous Letters

Dear Merlin,

You're a clotpole. And I know full well that is your word, and it still suits you perfectly.

I love you so much it frightens me.

I love your smile that lights up the room, and my heart.

I love your hair, how soft it is, and how it's just long enough that it curls around your lovely ears.

I also love your ears, but as adorable as they are when I make you blush, they're so easy to insult.

I love how oblivious you are, because it almost always benefits me.

You could've transfigured a bed, I know that for a fact.

And I'm not too lazy to dress and undress myself, it's merely a matter of  preference .

I love your eyes, how emotive they are, and how incredibly beautiful they are.

And I especially love the way they glitter and shine when you do magic.

I love how bumbling and awkward you are, but how easily you shed that behaviour and trade it for "Sexy Commanding Sorcerer Who Could Kill You Without Really Trying".

And damn you, Merlin, your lips are too kissable! No man should have a mouth like that.

And speaking of mouths, I love how you always stand your ground and give as good as you get. You certainly keep me on my toes.

But lately your surly retorts have led me to ponder your possible " bedside manor ".

I'd best leave this letter here before it becomes too interesting, though.

Yours, just as you are mine, for as long as you need,

Arthur Pendragon, Son of Ygraine

PS. I'll probably have a Talk with you soon, but first we have to take care of a boggart, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy some more merthur fluff this week!
> 
> Also, here's your homework, make sure you do the reading:
> 
> [Slavery and the Origins of American Policing](https://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/brief-history-slavery-and-origins-american-policing)
> 
> #blacklivesmatter


	10. Did You Know About This?

Merlin had just walked in with a tray, perched on top of it were two mugs of good-old-fashioned tea and a plate of digestive biscuits. One cuppa had three spoons of sugar, but that was for Arthur; being royalty meant he was used to sweeter flavours. Merlin, having lived through several major economic crashes, and pre-colonial Britain, was used to decidedly more plain, savoury things.

"I've told you this, Arthur, you know how to use the kettle. You know where everything is, so can you  _ please _ make your _ own tea? _ I'm not your servant anymore and I flatly refuse to become your house--" he noticed Arthur appraising one of Merlin's many shelves of trinkets. Though that wall was dedicated entirely to items from Camelot,--"keeper… Arthur what's wrong?"

The light-haired man spun around, and took the mug he knew to be his own. It was deliberately in the Gryffindor colours and Merlin noticed him take an immediate liking to it. And, call him a sentimental, lovesick old fool - the mug used to be his favourite you see, for the exact reason of how much it reminded him of Arthur - Merlin let him claim it.

"Did you know that my helmet's gone missing?" Asked Arthur. Merlin just smiled the knowing smile of someone who simply let things happen, no matter how suspicious they seemed, as long as they posed no immediate danger.

It was an oddly specific smile but he found himself using it often.

"Yes. And the Rune Mark, your judgement from the Disir," Said the warlock.

Arthur suddenly looked deeply troubled. Merlin walked over to him and kissed him squarely on the lips, "What's wrong?"

"I don't understand it." Said Arthur.

"Understand what?" Said Merlin.

"Why you didn't just let me legalise magic, why you told me magic had no place in Camelot," Said the late king, looking defiantly into the warlock's eyes, "I know that you saw Mordred in the crystal but, didn't you stop to think? Think _ why _ he would want to kill me? Did you even consider that the future might not be so bad? That those events you saw may never have come to pass?” Merlin smiled almost sadly at that, and kissed him again.

"Because I wanted you to _ live _ . I didn't consider that because I didn't give myself time to think. I just saw a possibility that you were in trouble and did what I thought would save you." Said Merlin.

"Even at the expense of your own people?" Asked Arthur, gently holding his warlock's hand.

"Yes."

Arthur sighed, deeply.

"You shouldn't have done that. I know how much you love me, and I love you too. So much," he kissed Merlin's knuckles to prove the point, "but you can't choose my life over the wellbeing of an entire people. Surely you know this?"

"I do," said Merlin, "I was just young and in love. Destiny… Just increased the stakes."

"So you understand? No putting your life or the lives of others below mine?"

Merlin sighed, and ran the pads of his fingers across Arthur's cheek.

"I will always protect you. But I will never sacrifice others in order to do it, ever again."

Arthur leaned into the caress, and let go of Merlin's hand to wrap his own around his waist.

"Just stay alive," he said, punctuating his words with a chaste kiss, "so I can love you."

Merlin nodded.

"Anything else gone missing?” Said Arthur.

"Last week, Aithusa's shard, along with the Triskelion, and my old red neckerchief went missing as well. I noticed last week that something about my classroom felt wrong… But it wasn't until the items were returned in perfect condition - and the other stuff was stolen at the same time - that I realised exactly  _ what _ ." Merlin explained. The king raised an eyebrow at his warlock.

"The boys?" He proposed, "Maybe spying on your meeting with Minerva wasn't enough to satisfy their curiosity."

"It's the most plausible theory," said Merlin,"and curiosity is generous. More like suspicion, these kids have lived through a war. 

"And they're probably working with Ms Granger and Mr Weasley, whose night-time  _ canoodling _ happened to coincide with the theft of your helmet, and the simultaneous return of my neckerchief and the accompanying items."

"So they're extracting information from your old junk?" Said Arthur.

" _ Our _ old junk - as I got a good chunk of that lot from the castle vaults - and yes. Duh." Merlin replied cheekily. Arthur frowned.

"Should we let them?" He asked, wary.

"Let's see what conclusions they draw." Merlin answered with a smirk, and the two sipped their tea with mirth.

Then they had a lovely conversation about tourneys, and exactly how pompous some of the knights were (and how humbled they became after being knocked on their arses by the Prince and, later, King of Camelot himself).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Saturday! Which means, new chapter!
> 
> And I have a new resource for y'all, please donate to the TGI Justice Project. They're a Black led organization that supports trans women of color in the prison system and after their release (based in san francisco).  
> Here's the link:  
> [TGI Justice Project](https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/TGIJP/mobile)


	11. Swing And A Miss

Obviously Draco and Harry used the time their friends were breaking into Hunithson's classroom to "study".

They were quickly left out of breath from their "academic ventures" though, and graduated to just chatting about nothing.

It turned out that Draco's clever little speech from the astronomy tower had worked, because Harry informed him he was thinking of going into teaching. Draco had decided on healing as his profession. He'd always thought being an Auror would involve much too many of the kinds of duties given to Voldemort's grunts back during the war. Too much violence, too much fighting with people. Draco would rather pursue a career that aimed to care for people, not control them.

He said as much to Harry, who smiled and agreed with his sentiment.

"Y'know," Draco began, "it wasn't _ entirely _ my idea to bring you to the astronomy tower…"

"Really?" Said Harry.

"Yeah. I suppose I have Lionel to thank for that. When we interrogated them the last time, we got to talking and he said something to me. He said ' _ Go for it. At the very least you'll make nice memories, or replace unpleasant ones. _ ' and that's what gave me the idea." He finished with a shy smile.

Harry didn't speak for a while, so eventually Draco looked up. Harry was gaping at him.

"Elwyn gave me advice too," be explained, "on the same day, at the _ same time _ ."

They both laughed. Then they did more "studying".

Draco had just gotten into talking about new healing tonic breakthroughs, when Ron lumbered in through the dormitory door.

"Any luck?" Said Harry.

"Yeah, got two more artefacts. Almost got caught though…" Ron then recounted the run-in with the two professors to Draco and Harry.

"So they just think you and Hermione are nymphomaniacs now?" Draco said with a laugh. Harry chortled next to him.

By way of an answer, Ron just groaned, and collapsed bodily onto his bed face-first.

It was then that Draco made his excuses to leave, promising to help look over the new artefacts at breakfast the next morning.

"Bye Draco." Said Harry, with a wink that Ron couldn't see from where his face was planted into his pillow.

"Bye Harry," Said Draco with a replying wink, trying very hard not to sound too flirtatious, "bye Ron." He added.

"Buhf Dfraychfo." Came Ron's muffled reply.

Then Draco went back to his dorm, thinking about Harry.

* * *

The next morning everybody arrived at breakfast at the same time.

Ginny, Luna, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Blaise, and Pansy all knew about the investigation the Golden Quartet were conducting - so they watched while Draco and Hermione surveyed the coin covered in runes.

"What is it?" Asked Luna.

"Bloody big coin." Said Seamus.

"What's it say?” asked Pansy.

"Is it to do with the helmet?" Asked Blaise.

Ginny shushed them all, then motioned for Hermione to continue what she was about to say.

Hermione cleared her throat.

"We think it's a token of some kind; it's certainly not a form of currency due to its size. Draco and I have also roughly translated the runes on it to have something to do with divine judgement." She explained.

"Like the wrath of Gods." Said Harry. Hermione nodded.

Then, strangely, Luna chipped in.

"It's a runemark." She said.

Hermione tried not to scoff, "Sorry Luna, but those weren't used by Wizards. They were only used by a select few Muggle religions that have long died out."

Luna shook her head, repeating her words. At this point, Hermione was curious, so she reluctantly motioned for Luna to elaborate.

"They were used by a magical council known as the Disir, to cast judgement upon those who had wronged their Moon Goddess. They also told the path the wrongdoer would take if they continued. Thus they were considered both fate and judgement. One was given to king Arthur in the legends." The girl dutifully explained.

"Where did you get this information?" Asked Draco, before Hermione had a chance to talk.

"The Quibbler." Luna answered with a smile.

The question Hermione had wanted to ask died on her lips. She was going to ask if there was a connection between this runemark and the prophecy of Merlin she'd been looking at in Ancient Runes. What with the Moon Goddess and the mention of King Arthur. But if it was from a Quibbler article, it was probably a bust.

  
  


The group moved on to the helmet. It was simple, with a cross-shaped opening at the front, shielding the cheeks while freeing the eyes and mouth. It also had two crosses on either side of the helmet made of small holes. It was altogether unremarkable.

Hermione recognised its shape from 5th-7th century battle armour, and said so to the group.

"Another perfectly preserved item…" Draco pondered out loud next to her.

  
  


Eventually they were satisfied they had extracted all the information available - which was slim to none, as neither item contained fingerprints or any hints of DNA such as hair or dead skin. They had everything they were gonna get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if the chapter today is underwhelming or not 🤔 lemme know.
> 
> Anyway, here's an [Anti-Racist Resource Guide](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a-lzdtxOlWuzYNGqwlYwxMWADtZ6vJGCpKhtJHHrS54/edit?usp=drivesdk) for you today. I don't think I'll post any more links in the notes after this one (unless I find something particularly good) because this is a REALLY comprehensive guide.   
> Continue to do the work, and I hope you enjoyed the fic, #BlackLivesMatter


	12. Meddlesome Things

It was late, and moonlight filtered gently through the window to Merlin and Arthur's shared bedroom in the castle. It illuminated the warlock, hunched over piles of parchment and scratching at them with a quill. Arthur was holding the inkwell for him, so it wouldn't spill.

"Tomorrow's lesson plan?" He asked his lover.

"Yes."

Arthur nodded to himself, running the pads of his fingers around the rim of the inkwell, watching the light bounce off Merlin's pale skin.

"What's it about?" he asked.

"It's about testing objects for traces of magic." Merlin answered, altering the last line of notes with a flourish. He took the inkwell from Arthur and put the lid back on it, transferring it along with the quill and parchment, to a drawer on the other side of the room.

Arthur unashamedly ogled his behind, and gave a low whistle as Merlin returned to the bed. The warlock flicked his ear, hard.

"Treason," Arthur muttered, "and your teaching the students that subject wouldn't have anything to do with a certain group of nosy eighth years, would it?" 

Merlin smiled at him.

"I think they should have the necessary tools to at least gather all relevant information. Don't want them getting any wrong impressions, do we?" He said, as he slid under the covers, running his hands over Arthur's bare chest.

"Hey that's cold!" The former king complained, "I'll admit though, I'm curious as to how far they've gotten…"

Merlin agreed, "I've started keeping a log of the thefts. They took the Avalon Vial and the Stone Of Alchemy last night. "

The silence that followed was heavy with the memory of what the Stone had done to Guinevere's father. Tom's death still weighed heavily on Arthur's heart, he should've done more. The king spotted Merlin's eyebrows scrunching in that "I'm going to aggressively reassure you if you keep this up" kind of way.

"Won't they find magic in those items?" Said Arthur.

"Not with modern spells." Merlin said after a moment, adding a sly wink. Arthur grinned, and kissed him, bathed in moonlight. He always did love Merlin's passion for causing trouble where he could find it. At least this time, though, he wasn't the target (he'd never forget the donkey fiasco) - he got to look on and admire the chaos.

And also kiss Merlin. That's his new favourite thing to do, next to curling up with Merlin's leather concertina full of letters, and having Merlin read them to him. Most of them were nice, but some made Merlin cry. Arthur would kiss the tears from his cheeks, and the two of them would just hold each other for a while. Tonight though, didn't have tears, but it did have lots and lots of kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some merthur fluff this time! Again, I'm sorry it's so short, I'll probably post two chapters this week just to make it up to y'all.  
> (also i apologise for being a day late)  
> here's your weekly reminder to check out anti-racism resources, and to donate to bail funds, Black-owned businesses, and Black educators (if you are able to).  
> remember, even if your feeds are getting back to normal, Black Lives still Matter


	13. The Eye Of The Phoenix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The actual Eye of The Phoenix bracelet does not appear in this chapter (it's a misleading title, I know)

The next items, acquired skillfully by Harry and Draco; were a large piece of what appeared to be amber, encased in a metal claw, not unlike a bird's foot; and what at first appeared to be a broken sand timer, until Draco noticed bits of water on the splintered shards of glass. The blond also noticed it was the wrong shape for a sand timer, being more pear-shaped.

"Water can be analysed in a lab, can't it?" Harry asked his boyfriend. Draco nodded, "Then let's take it."

Draco carefully wrapped the thing in a handkerchief he kept on him at all times (that Harry laughs at), then hid it in his robes. Harry took the amber. As he pocketed it, though, Draco could've sworn he heard it faintly humming. And saw it, just for a second, warmly glow.  Draco told Harry this, and they decided it was a magical artefact, and potentially very dangerous.  Which honestly had mixed implications for Elwyn... They wrapped it in that same piece of red cloth from before. The neckerchief.

* * *

"It's benign." Said Hermione the next day.

"It can't be! I know what I saw!" Draco protested, moments away from petulantly stomping his foot on the ground like the brat he was when he was eleven.

"Draco," the Gryffindor girl sighed, "I've used every test we covered in yesterday's Defense lesson, and from all the books in the restricted section. I've performed every spell correctly. There isn't a drop of magic in this thing!" She finished, pointing decisively at the piece of amber.  For a moment Draco grumbled and shook, looking for all the world as if he were about to explode - then he suddenly calmed, and sighed.

"Fine," He said, resigned, with a hand through his hair, "what about the water?” 

"I sent the sample to Neville. If it's from a naturally occurring source of water, it'll contain algae and microorganisms which he can use to pinpoint the water's date, and possibly location, of origin." Hermione answered frankly.  Draco gave a small nod in understanding. Which was good because Harry only got about half of that. Ron seemed to understand though too, as he also nodded, and Hermione pecked him on the cheek.  Though maybe Harry was just distracted by the sight flush of Draco's cheeks from his frustration. He should stop staring before the others catch on.

"Have any of you been watching the Potions Master lately?" Luna asked the group.

They shrugged.

"Oh, alright. It's just that Ginny and I passed him in the hall yesterday nervously muttering to himself." The white-blonde explained.

"Something about pests and tea and 'time sensitivity'." Said Ginny with a shrug.

"Well, Professor Agricola has always been a few pawns short of a Wizard Chess set, hasn't he?" Said Ron.

"I suppose." Said Luna, adjusting the radishes hanging from her ears.

"Yeah, twitchy is pretty much his default," Harry admitted, "it's probably nothing."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided I'd give you all two chapters today


	14. It Wasn't Nothing

Luna and Ginny were definitely suspicious of the Potions Master. After all, someone made the Living Death that almost killed Headmistress McGonagall, and who better than a Potions Master?

After all, it's on the curriculum.

Ginny was admittedly nervous, but Luna was her usual self. It was actually quite calming to watch the girl skip merrily down the corridor, radish-earrings bouncing, humming a strange and unfamiliar tune.

Ginny was just admiring the way Luna's hair reflected the light when they heard a crash coming from the Potions classroom.

The two exchanged a panicked look, before dashing across the dungeon floor in pursuit of the noise. What they found, was an enraged Professor Agricola throwing glass bottles of various ingredients into the wall. He turned and flipped a table, which sent a full cauldron crashing to the stone floor, its contents splashing out and sizzling.

Then they started to make sense of his shouting.

"Bloody _squib!_ Always strutting about the school, like he _owns the place!_ ” the teacher yelled, booting the cauldron across the room, "and that _blood traitor Hunithson!!!_ Who does that worm think he is? Always hanging off the squib's ankles like a damn lost puppy!” he chucked a hefty jar of smoke spiders onto the floor. And each of his next words were punctuated with a stamp of his foot as he raced to crush the creatures.

"Why! Is! He! So! Hard! To! _Kill!_ " Then Agricola let out a throaty shout, finally sending his fist into the wall. He whimpered with pain and was reduced to grumbling.

"Can't even break into his classroom at night because of that _band of misfits, who can't MIND THEIR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!_ ” That was when he sent his foot into a table leg, breaking it, and sending the table top right down onto his toe. Then he swore, very loudly, red-faced and covered in sweat, his hair limp and askew.

Ginny looked over at Luna, shaking.

"We have to warn the others." Said the latter.

So they ran out of the dungeons, slipping on the slime-covered stones, and rushed to warn their friends.

* * *

Draco was discussing theories with Harry when Luna and Ginny burst into the eighth year common room, stuttering about Professor Agricola going on a rampage.

" _He_ was the assassin the whole time, _we told you, Harry_!"

The two young men exchanged a panicked look, before Draco and Harry leapt to their feet and made a mad dash for the portrait hole. Draco heard the footsteps of Hermione and Ron clicking from behind them as they all ran for the dungeons.

"Wait," Said Luna, and the stampede of students came to a halt in front of her, "we should get the Defense professors."

"Luna's right." Said Ginny, sending an urgent look to her ex-boyfriend.

Harry glanced over at Draco. What, was he looking for his approval? Mad Gryffindor.

"Well?" Said Draco, "what are we standing here for? Let's go get them!"

They all ran up the stairs, now heading for Hunithson's classroom.

Draco pulled to the back of the group, dragging Harry by the sleeve of his robes.

"You okay?" He asked. Harry nodded. Then the Gryffindor glanced ahead to check nobody was watching them, before pressing a quick kiss to Draco's cheek. The blond could feel his face heating, and Harry smirked at him before jogging to catch up with the rest of the group.

"Prick…" Draco muttered to himself.

* * *

It wasn't long before they rounded the corner to the correct corridor, only to find Hunithson's door ajar and hear shouting from inside.

" _Shit_ , how did he get here before us!?” Draco exclaimed, as the six students made a run for the door.

Ginny and Luna stopped there, drawing their wands. "We'll keep a lookout." Said Ginny.

"What would you be looking out for?" Ron countered from in front of them, "Go and find help!" 

"Good point." Said Luna, before grabbing Ginny by the hand and running out into the school.

"Be careful!" Ginny called to the remaining four students as she was dragged away.

Hermione and Ron drew their wands, and Draco and Harry followed suit. Then, they entered the classroom.

* * *

"I'm sick of all this post-war cheeriness!” Yelled Agricola, his wand pressed against Phoenix's throat.

"Don't fight, Lionel, you don't know what kind of nasty spell he might use!” Harry warned the professor, announcing the presence of the Golden Quartet. Draco didn't berate him for that stupid move, they had more important things to worry about.

"Come a step closer, _Potter_ , and I'll kill him right now!" The Potions Master warned them. Draco flinched at the way he said Harry's last name, regret a briefly jabbing at his guts.

Draco glanced over at Elwyn, who'd gone as pale as Moaning Myrtle. His eyes were wide with fear, and the Slytherin noticed his white-knuckled fist shaking.

"Why are you doing this, Agricola?" Draco asked, calmly. The professor fixed him with an icy glare.

"Why?" He asked, " _why, the blood traitor asks?_ Because we lost the war, that's why! The Dark Lord's noble work! His great plan, his final solution to this _infestation_ , this _perversion_ of the purity of magical blood! All foiled by a _half-blood teenager with messy hair!_ " 

Draco quelled the righteous fury seething in his bones at _that_ comment, and took a deep breath.

Completely devoid of emotion or inflection, he held out his hand to Agricola and said, "Let him go."

Agricola narrowed his eyes ever-so-slightly, and Draco knew he was beat.

"No." Said the professor, then, just as the four students made a run for him, he began to cast the Killing Curse.

It was then, as Agricola drew his wand back to cast, that Lionel expertly wrangled out of his grip. That didn't stop him casting though, and right as the final syllables of the incantation left Agricola's mouth, Elwyn dove directly in front of Phoenix, no longer rooted to the spot.

The surge of green light shot straight into the professor's chest, and with a punched-out breath, Elwyn Hunithson hit the deck.

In their shock, Draco, Harry, and Ron all stood gaping.

" _Petrificus totalus!"_ Screamed Hermione, and Agricola went rigid, wand still outstretched, with a manic grin plastering his flushed face. Then he keeled over, and landed on the ground with a thud.

"Shit shit shit shit…" was all Draco heard from Lionel as he sat there with his lover's head in his lap. The golden-haired man rubbed the pad of his thumb over Elwyn's cheek, whispering frantically.

"Professor Phoenix, we're so sorry…" said Draco. He couldn't imagine if something like that happened to Harry. 

"Come on, wake up," said Lionel, "come on, you useless idiot, _open your eyes_!" The poor man had started to cry. Draco rested his hand gently on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing we can-" Draco was interrupted by the huge rasping intake of breath from Hunithson. He immediately began coughing, and Lionel helped him to sit up, before enveloping him in a tight hug.

Hunithson reciprocated.

"That bloody hurt." He said, and they both chuckled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another late one, what can I say? I'm messy 🤷 hope this spices up your day nonetheless


	15. Not Their Lucky Day

Before anybody in the room could comment on what the hell just happened, four aurors entered the room, wands out and battle faces on. Good to know that Luna and Ginny were successful in their mission.

They all somewhat deflated at the sight of the petrified man on the ground, but they still arrested him. Agricola was to be kept in one of the many holding cells at the Ministry before facing trial, after which he'd most likely be sent off to the New-Azkaban Reform Prison.

All this happened in stilted silence, broken only by the aurors asking questions, and the various occupants of the classroom answering in clipped statements.

Eventually the aurors filed out - Potions Master in tow - and the Golden Quartet, Elwyn, and Lionel were left alone once again.

"Why," Ron began, "why would you jump in the way?" He addressed Hunithson, who mostly just looked down into his lap, picking at the hem of his robes.

"Lionel can't do magic, that much is obvious." Said Draco.

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, "we couldn't find a wand in any of our searches - and although it would make more sense that you keep it in your personal rooms - I'm more inclined to believe you just don't have one."

The blond man, who was also looking down, shook his head in confirmation.

"And all those wizarding history books. One would have thought you'd know these things, growing up a squib. Because you would've still grown up in the wizarding world…" Said Draco.

All that time, Harry had been standing there, knuckles clenched and stomach churning with anxiety.

He couldn't believe it. How could Hunithson be so reckless? And for what? Love?

Harry glanced over at Draco and, with a pang in his chest, realised he'd have done the same as Elwyn if it was for Draco.

Shit.

"You're a Muggle." Said Harry.

The room became so silent that if he concentrated hard enough, Harry could hear the whinnies of centaurs in the forbidden forest, from so far away.

Slowly, Lionel nodded, clutching Elwyn closer to his body. Whether to protect Hunithson, or himself, or simply just feel comfort in his lover's closeness, Harry simply didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another late one, I apologise, but I had some sewing stuff to do. And as I near the last few chapters of this fic I just admit I'm getting really insecure 😅 so if you do like the fic, please let me know, it helps put my mind at ease 💛


	16. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Priorities™

They didn't tell anyone about it, especially not the aurors. They didn't betray their teachers, their friends. But that didn't mean that Harry didn't have to listen to Draco and Ron argue about it whenever a member of staff wasn't present.

"He broke the Statute of Secrecy! That's the worst crime a wizard is capable of!" Ron bellowed in Draco's face as they closed the door to his and Harry's shared room.

Harry cast a  _ Muffliato _ when he saw Draco's gaze narrow at his best mate. 

" _ Really!? _ You fought in a war against The Dark Lord Voldemort, and you think  _ that's _ the worst crime!" Draco shot back with venom.

"That's not the point!” yelled Ron, "Do you know how serious this is? He could go to  _ Azkaban, _ Malfoy; not even Agricola went to Azkaban and he tried to murder someone! He went to the new rehab prison!” Harry tried not to notice Ron defaulting back to 'Malfoy', instead of 'Draco', in his anger.

"I'm not debating the  _ legality _ of the situation. What I'm debating is the  _ ethics _ ,  _ Weasley _ ." Said Draco, again reverting back to a last name basis.

"So am I! And the ethics are that it was stupid and reckless and selfish of him!" Said Ron.

"Are you  _ seriously _ saying that this man sharing a huge part of his identity with _ the man he loves _ is  _ selfish _ !?” said Draco.

" _ YES! _ ” Ron screamed as the argument reached its crescendo. Draco twitched as if struck, with eyes as wide as if Ron had just slapped him in the face. His nostrils flared and Harry saw his eyes of molten silver flash dangerously.

Then, he stood up from his perch on Harry's trunk at the foot of his bed, and marched out of the room.

"You heartless  _ weasel _ .” he hissed.

"Pointy-faced  _ ferret _ ." Came Ron's retort.

Hermione sighed deeply.

"I'm going to go see if Neville's lab results are ready yet." Then she left too.

  
  


Ron stomped over to his bed and sat heavily upon it, crossing his arms.

"This is ridiculous," he said, "how could he take Elwyn's side? He's ignoring the entire _ purpose _ of the Statute of Secrecy!” Harry looked at his best friend, who gave him an imploring look.

_ " _ You have to believe me Harry, you know I've always had your back." He said.

Harry took a deep breath, "I believe you Ron," the man's face lit up, "but I believe Draco too. I don't think it matters at the moment whether what he did was right or wrong. All that matters right now is making sure Elwyn and Lionel are safe. And the best way to do that right now is to keep their secret."

Ron frowned at his friend.

_ This isn't fair _ , thought Harry, _ I shouldn't be forced to choose between my boyfriend and my best friend. It's not fair _ .

"I'm gonna go to the library," Said Harry, once he was sure Ron wasn't going to say anything else, "See you tonight, Ron."

His friend nodded in acknowledgement. Then Harry left for the library.

* * *

He wasn't expecting Draco to be there, but he found him, curled up in a corner amongst the bean bags and Potions books.

"Hey." Said Harry.

"Hi," Said Draco, with a small twitch of his mouth that Harry knew was a smile, "it's nice to see you."

Harry smiled properly, "Nice to see you too. Room for company?"

Draco hummed yes, and dug out a spot for Harry to curl into next to him. Harry took the spot, and rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder while he read a book on Herbology.

"Y'know this was how they used to do healing, over a thousand years ago. A combination of muggle herbs and ancient magic." Said Draco, resting his own head on Harry's.

"It wasn't uncommon for Royal Court Physicians to be witches or wizards themselves. Well, they would actually all be witches, because back then a witch was any magical person who specialised in herbs or potions - so they were the best healers. It didn't necessarily mean a woman." Draco continued his academic ramblings.

"So you're gonna become a professional witch then." Said Harry. Draco kicked him, and Harry feigned pain.

"Ow! You're so violent!" He joked. Draco chuckled deep in his chest, and Harry could feel the vibrations of it.

"I suppose technically you're right." He caved.

Then Harry moved his head, and guided Draco's chin with his hand, and gave him a lingering kiss.

Draco pulled him in close and they just snuggled for a while, Harry half-nestled into Draco's chest, while the blond ran his hands through his boyfriend's nest of hair.

"Y'know," said Draco just as Harry was about to sink into a nap, "Many believe that back then, muggles and magic folk lived alongside one another. Free to be themselves all the time. And never have to hide their magic from people."

Harry scrambled up into a sitting position.

"Are you serious? Are  _ you _ trying to make me pick sides now?" He demanded.

"What? No!" Said Draco.

But Harry was already on his feet.

"Y'know what, I don't care. I'll tell you the same thing I told Ron. It doesn't matter whether or not what Elwyn did was right, what matters is that we make sure they don't get found out. Now I'm gonna go see how Hermione's doing with that algae."

"Harry, wait!" Draco called after him as Harry stormed away.

Madam Pince rounded the corner and pointedly shushed Draco, then Harry was out the door.

The two of them could make amends on their own, but Harry wasn't going to get caught in the middle.

He didn't even know why they were so caught up in the breach of the Statute anyway! Harry was more preoccupied with thoughts of  _ how the hell did Elwyn survive being hit with the Killing Curse? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple days late, as is my M.O. at this point. This one's a lot longer than last week's, hope you enjoyed 😁


	17. To Kill The King

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI since some people mentioned it after the last update, it doesn't come up in this chapter, but I just wanna say the main reason Hermione is so Done™ with Draco and Ron's argument is because, hello? Both her parents are muggles and they're allowed to know about her magic? Also Seamus' parents???? But she figured this would be a good opportunity for the boys (Draco and Ron) to bond😅

Harry bursted into the greenhouse Hermione was in with a huff.

"Been giving you grief, have they?" She asked.

"You've _ no idea _ ," Said Harry, "had any luck with that algae or whatever?"

Hermione's whole face lit up.

"Actually, we have! Neville…" she cued their Gryffindor classmate.

"Oh, right," he cleared his throat, "this sample contains species of algae that were present over a thousand years ago. In fact, by doing a load of complicated stuff that would probably bore you, Harry, I can pinpoint the approximate date and location of origin."

"Really?” said Harry.

"Yes," said Neville, "around the mid-sixth century is most likely, somewhere in South Wales."

"Which fits the dates most of our other artefacts came from! Like the helmet," Said Hermione, "and the neckerchief, which we decided to date as well!"

"That's good," said Harry, "but that doesn't bring us any closer in the investigation, does it?"

"No," said Hermione, "it doesn't."

"But," Neville continued for her, "the water also has magical properties, the likes of which I've never seen before!"

"Huh," said Harry, "I suppose it does help then."

Hermione grinned even more.

"But that's not all, Harry! Neville actually obtained a sample from Elwyn's spare cauldron as a control. But it matches the sample from the vial! A new cauldron has the same water as a very old glass vial!"

"We should go follow this up. There's got to be something in that cauldron!" Said Harry.

Hermione nodded. "I agree. But I wanted to wait for you and the others... Though I suppose we could just go on our own?"

"I'm sure they won't mind." Said Harry.

Then they left the greenhouse - after thanking Neville profusely, of course.

* * *

It wasn't hard getting into Elwyn's office. For someone whose partner was almost assassinated, and had broken one of the most important wizarding laws, Elwyn's oddly trusting of the student body of Hogwarts.

Either way, Harry and Hermione soon found themselves staring into a shallow pool of water at the bottom of a cauldron.

"Maybe it works like a penceive ?" Harry suggested.

"Hmmm, I suppose we can't rule it out." Hermione shrugged.

So Harry, in true reckless and stupid Gryffindor fashion, stuck his whole head inside of a cauldron containing magic water.

It was at times like these when he missed Draco's wry commentary, I mean come on, the opportunity was  _ right there _ .

"I think I see something, 'Mione…” said Harry as he spotted the water sparkling ever so slightly.

_ "She's too tired to talk right now." _

Harry jumped at the sound of Professor Hunithson's voice, and banged his head on the wall of the cauldron with a  _ clang _ .

"Sorry professor, we didn't-" Elwyn held up his hand and Hermione stopped talking.

"What do you mean 'she'?” asked Harry. Elwyn smiled.

"The spirit in that water. Her name is Freya, and she can't talk right now. She's too weak. I need more water for her if she's to not get tired so easily. But I can't go get it until the next summer break," He explained, looking forlornly at the cauldron,

"Arthur made quite a mess when he arrived here." The professor noted, with a slight blush, if Harry wasn't mistaken.

"Arthur?" Asked Hermione.

"Whoops, slip of the tongue," said Elwyn, "but I suppose after all the trouble you've gone to, the ordeal last week, you deserve to know everything."

Then he walked over to his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out his leather concertina. It felt like an eternity since Harry had seen him with it on the train, he almost forgot Elwyn had it.

"Everything you need to know, it's all in here. I always kept good records for Arthur's benefit, but after he came back I just kept writing. I wanted to remember this, for a long time… but I suppose you two can use them to fill yourselves in on everything that's happened this year." Elwyn attempted to explain, before handing them the concertina, and offering them some seats and a cup of tea each.

"I'd also like the Stone Of Alchemy, the Avalon Vial, and my favourite neckerchief back, please."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this isn't too short a chapter for you all <3


	18. Clearing The Air (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ron doesn't know how to talk to gay people, but he's Doing His Best.

"I'm going to find them." Said Ron.

"Ron, maybe we should give them both some space right now…" Draco replied, trying to match Ron's determined pace with quick footsteps.

"We? _I'm_ not the one they've been avoiding. Harry made it obvious he doesn't want to talk to _you_ right now." Ron snapped. Draco took a deep breath to collect himself.

"I know you don't mean that. But… Look… I'm sorry if I haven't done enough to make up for what happened in the war-" He began.

"Shut up," Ron interrupted, "it's not about that. It's - ugh - it just feels like you're completely ignoring the point of the Statute Of Secrecy in the first place!"

"No I'm not! It's to protect magic users from persecution! So forgive _me_ for thinking Lionel might NOT want to burn his partner at the stake!" Draco shouted. How could Ron think he didn't know that?

"What? That's nowhere near what I meant!" Ron tried to defend himself, and looked back at Draco just as they rounded the corner…

And walked straight into Professor Lionel Phoenix.

"Bollocks…" Ron muttered. This was the first time today that Draco agreed with him.

* * *

By the time Harry and Hermione had finished reading the historian's bounty of letters before them, they had asked many questions, and gotten many answers. They'd laughed and gasped and cried. But by the end of it they were mostly in awe.

"You really are Merlin," Said Hermione, and it wasn't a question, but a statement of fact, "that prophecy I read on the train… It was true…”

El- no, _Merlin_ , smiled.

"Yes, I read it! It was actually what inspired me to come here in the first place. And Hogwarts turned out to be the perfect place to get Arthur used to magic. Though he mostly spent all his time being happy for me… Which was very sweet."

"It certainly explains how you survived the Killing Curse, being an omnipotent, immortal warlock." Said Harry.

Merlin actually flushed a bit at that.

"Well as you could tell in the letters, I'm not exactly used to the praise. It's why I tend to stay hidden. Though now that Arthur's back, I'm not entirely sure I see the point anymore." He said with a furrow to his brow.

"Then tell them, tell the whole school! McGonagall already knows, and she's coming back from St. Mungo's tomorrow. You can tell everyone at the assembly!" Hermione suggested to the legendary wizard.

"What? No! I wouldn't want to steal the attention from her, that's supposed to be _her_ celebration!" He protested, forehead wrinkled with distress. Harry still couldn't quite believe how… human he was. So strange for someone with such power to be so kind and down-to-earth. Worrying about something as trivial as stealing the spotlight at someone else's party. Harry could have laughed.

"That's the thing about good old Minnie, though," said Harry, "she hates attention. I'm sure if you asked her, she'd be more than okay with it."

Merlin narrowed his eyes.

"You're going to ask her behind my back if I say no, aren't you."

"Probably." Said Hermione.

"Fine," the warlock agreed with a resigned sigh, "but on your heads be it."

There was a pause while Hermione and Harry shared a look of satisfaction at Merlin finally getting the praise he deserved, and of complete disbelief that they had just had a completely normal conversation with _The Merlin_.

"Also, I still want my stuff back." Said _The Merlin_.

* * *

Phoenix gave Draco and Ron a look, then he sighed.

"Are you both arguing about Elwyn sharing his magic with me?"

This man really didn't like to beat around the bush… and when he put it that way it just sounded so _personal_.

"Yes." Ron admitted on Draco's left, much to the Slytherin's surprise. 

Lionel nodded.

"It must've been quite a shock, finding out your teacher was a Muggle this whole time…" he said.

"Not really," said Draco, "Ron and I are mostly debating about the breach of the Statute." He tried to keep his tone level, but he thinks it might've just come out cold and disdainful. Old habits die hard…

"Really?” said Lionel, "How do you both differ on the matter?" And as he said those words his entire demeanor transformed. Draco had lived in a "pureblood" household for his whole life, and there was a certain facade he put on when he went to those fancy dinners, they all did. Just then, Lionel resembled his father when he was in his prime, settling disputes between high-ranking families, or discussing marriage prospects or procuring assets.

It was almost like a king at court…

"Well," Ron interrupted Draco's train of thought, "Draco reckons it's all fine and dandy just because you're Elwyn's partner or whatever… and I think that's exactly the problem!” 

_Wait, what?_

"The whole point of the Statute for the last few years, especially during the war," Ron continued, "was to keep muggles safe! The confrontation with Agricola was the perfect example! Being exposed to the wizarding world made you a target to that man! You could've died!" He finished with wild gesticulation of his arms.

"Hang on,” Draco demanded, " _that's_ what you meant?"

"Obviously." Ron looked at Draco like he'd started quoting the Quibbler.

"Well," said Lionel, "it sounds like you both had noble intentions," the boys nodded in perplexed agreement, "but miscommunication is a dangerous thing. 

Ron, you needn't worry about me getting hurt. Elwyn and I have...a history. We've always protected _each other_ , though we're both equally capable of taking care of ourselves. And even if I couldn't hold my own, I'd still voluntarily stay here where I'm in danger, because I love Elwyn. Sometimes it scares me just how much..."

Ron looked at the floor. And Draco felt his chest bloom with renewed feelings for Harry. He needed to apologise… And quickly.

"And Draco," apparently Lionel wasn't done yet, "You must understand that I am going to be more cautious after these recent events. And that not every muggle is as understanding as I am. Even I myself, have struggled in the past… You must understand that even in the times where muggles and magicians lived side-by-side, there was still some knocking of elbows, so to speak."

"But I thought back then wizards never had to hide?” asked Draco.

"In my experience," Arthur's shoulders tensed, almost imperceptibly, and his jaw tightened, "that wasn't the case. Historically."

Draco nodded, completely sincerely, remembering the burnings they taught in History of Magic. Though Lionel's phrasing was odd "in his experience"; perhaps he was talking of the times when Elwyn was secretly tutoring him with those stolen books? 

"Oh, and both of you, have you forgotten that breaches in the statute are allowed in certain circumstances? In long-term muggle/magician relationships for example? Or if a muggle couple's child has magic, to name a few." Said Lionel with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly it occurred to Draco why Hermione hadn't bothered to contribute to their argument. He groaned, and when he looked over at Ron, the Gryffindor smacked his face with his palm - no doubt he'd realised the same thing about his own girlfriend.

Lionel gave them both a warm smile and a clap on the shoulder.

"Have a good day, men, and always own up to your mistakes when you make them. Because you will."

And then he was gone.

Just, walked off.

"Hey, uh," Draco ventured. Ron looked up at him, "weird question. But you don't… Have a problem with our professors being in a romantic relationship, do you?"

Ron gave him that look again, like he was battier than the jars in Agricola's old store cupboard.

"What? No," he said, incredulous, "I mean, maybe it's a bit weird in the same way it would be if _any_ two teachers got together. But that's got nothing to do with them both being blokes, if that's what you mean." 

Draco sighed with relief.

"That's good, then." Said Draco.

"Besides," said Ron, "if I were homophobic I couldn't be friends with you."

Draco shot him a "what the fuck did you smoke out of Sprout's greenhouse?" kind of look.

Ron only laughed.

"Come on, Draco. I've known you probably weren't straight since we were eleven. You're too posh for it to just be breeding." He said by way of explanation.

"That's stereotyping you know!" Draco spluttered.

"Yeah," said Ron, "you're right. That wasn't it, though it certainly doesn't help your case. No, I'd probably say it's the way you stare at Harry's arse when he walks in front of us…"

Draco flushed fucking scarlet. He couldn't tell whether it was Ron's foolhardy Gryffindor side that made him say that with absolutely _zero_ discretion, or whether the Weasley had a secret, devious Slytherin streak he didn't know about.

Either way, Draco smacked his arm, and Ron laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I bring up how late I am every time I update? Yes.  
> Do I need to do that seeing as you all probably expect it from me at this point? No.  
> Will I stop? Also no.  
> Will I ever actually update on time? Also also no.
> 
> We're at the home stretch guys!!!!!! One more to go!!!


	19. Clearing The Air (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this ending isn't too cheesy for you all 😅 and I'm sorry I left the LGBTQ+ bits until the end.  
> I'll explore this series more in the future, but it won't be for a while I'm afraid 🙏.  
> For now I just hope you enjoy it 😁.

The next morning felt like a blank slate, and a new beginning.

Draco walked up to the doors of the Great Hall feeling refreshed, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

When he got to the doors, he spotted Harry leaning against the wall beside them.

"Hey." Said Draco.

"Hey," Harry replied, "Ron spoke to me last night."

Draco swallowed a lump in his throat.

"He did?" Said the blond.

"Yeah," said Harry, pushing off the wall and approaching Draco, "he said the two of you got monologued by Phoenix yesterday."

"Oh, yeah we did." Draco confirmed with an awkward smile. Harry gave him a much wider smile of his own.

"I'm glad you two made up." He said.

Again, Draco got that feeling of a great weight being lifted.

"Yeah, me too. And speaking of making up-" he began.

"Draco-" Harry tried to interrupt, but he was having none of it.

"No, Harry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for letting my fight with Ron invade our relationship, and I'm sorry that I put you in a position where you felt like you had to choose between me and your best friend. It was completely unfair of me, and I promise I'll try to be better in future." Draco explained at length, with a straight back and a stern sincerity that his mother always taught him to use when making apologies. Merlin knew he'd had plenty of practice apologising since the war.

"I believe you," said Harry, and walked up to Draco, planting a kiss on his nose, "and I forgive you."

Draco threw his arms around Harry's neck in an "I don't deserve such an understanding boyfriend" hug.

"Did Ron apologise too?" He asked, giving in to his curiosity.

"Yeah," said Harry, "he did it in our dorm room when he told me about your run in with the professor."

Draco nodded curtly. So he should have.

"Can we have breakfast now?” asked Harry. Then suddenly it occurred to Draco that anyone could have seen their little PDA session, and he jumped back from Harry as if burned.

The dark-haired man just sighed a little, and opened one of the massive doors.

Soon they spotted Ron and Hermione sitting with the rest of their friends - Neville, Ginny, Luna, Blaise, and Pansy.

Ron was busy apologising to Hermione in a similar fashion to Draco not long before, while Luna was telling Ginny about the newest fantastical creature written in that week's Quibbler. The Weaselette listened intently, with a small smile.

Meanwhile, Neville was showing Blaise and Pansy a Combustion Plant pod, from the sample Draco knew he was growing.

The two Slytherins watched with rapt attention, no doubt formulating various revenge plots involving dropping those pods into an unsuspecting glass of butterbeer on their next trip to Hogsmeade.

Draco and Harry settled on the side of the table opposite Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Luna. 

"Morning lads." Said Blaise.

"Did you know McGonagall's got an announcement planned for today's before-breakfast assembly?" Pansy asked the two men, pocketing a handful of the Combustion Plant pods.

"No I didn't." Draco said with a frown.

"Well they do," Ron interjected, "maybe it has something to do with Elwyn and Lionel…" Ron pondered.

"Maybe." Said Harry, sharing a look with Hermione across the table.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the two. He was a Slytherin, he knew when people were hiding things.

Well, he supposed if it was important he'd find out eventually.

"Attention, students!" Came a familiar sharp voice from the front of the hall. All conversation came to a close as students looked up to see their headmistress on the stage behind the golden owl.

Then, everyone erupted into cheers and applause. Minerva McGonagall bristled at the enthusiastic reception, but let it last for a whole minute, before calling the attention of the hall once more.

"I thank you all for the warm welcome back. It has been difficult being bedridden in St. Mungo's for almost half of the school year, but it will take more than a poorly executed poisoning to keep me away from my hardworking students," a new round of cheering started, but only lasted for a few seconds this time, before being silenced by McGonagall, "I have also been informed that the culprit is now facing justice, and I would be lying if I said that did not bring me a sense of gratification. However," if her tone was not no-nonsense before, it was now, "the aforementioned culprit was allegedly not targeting me. Former Potions Professor Avidia Agricola, originally meant the poison for a one Professor Lionel Phoenix, whom I'm sure many of you have seen in your Defense Against The Dark Arts classes,” a deep hush filled the hall, where not even whispers were heard, "Why, you may ask? Because Mr Phoenix is a Muggle."

Suddenly, the whole hall burst into shouts and gasps. With a single raised hand from McGonagall, they fell silent once more. Draco felt quite ill.

"I will allow Professors Hunithson and Phoenix to explain to you all the rest." Said the Headmistress, before returning to her seat.

Elwyn and Lionel both stood, and made their way to the golden owl. Their footsteps echoed through the Great Hall, too loud in the stunned silence of the massive room.

Elwyn cleared his throat.

"Hello, everyone. Students I've taught, students I haven't. You all know me as Elwyn Hunithson, and your esteemed fellow professor as Lionel Phoenix. Many of you consider me a friend. 

I would first like to clear up some rumours about us both. The first rumour, that Lionel is a squib, has already proven to be false.

The second rumour is of the nature of mine and Lionel's relationship. We are in fact in a romantic relationship, as many of you have guessed, and I would like to remind you all that this is not against any school rules," as Elwyn explained everything, nobody in the hall spoke a word, they were all waiting for a certain question to be answered, "and I've heard stories from you all, of how I, or Lionel, or the students who were with me that day, took down Agricola. 

I have one Hermione Granger to thank for finally incapacitating him, and Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy for also coming to my aid," a round of applause circled round the hall for the names given, "In addition, I'd like to thank Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley for contacting the people who apprehended Agricola," another round of applause, "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering whether Lionel is going to be arrested, or have his memory altered, or whether I'm going to be arrested for my violation of the Statute of Secrecy. And I can honestly say that I can't be certain. However, when I first requested that Lionel be considered for a position teaching at Hogwarts, your esteemed Headmistress was already made aware of his status as a Muggle, and has drafted a letter of commendation for both me and my partner, which has been signed by every member of staff in the castle - including the house elves. Many of which are my own close friends. Oh, that reminds me! The rumours of me sneaking into the castle kitchens to assist in feast preparations are also true," Draco saw Hermione beam with pride, "But at this point I'm rambling…

Truthfully, I am not who I say I am. My name is not Elwyn Hunithson, and my partner is not Lionel Phoenix. Headmistress McGonagall has known since before Christmas who we are, and now, as exams approach, I will tell you all the truth as well," as the professor took a deep breath, so did that of the Great Hall, "When I and my partner were attacked by Avidia Agricola, I was hit in the chest with a short range Killing Curse. I jumped in front of it to protect the man I love, but that love was not what saved me.

I am not Harry Potter, I am no human horcrux. The reason I survived the attack was the same reason I've survived countless others over the years. Much stronger and ancient magic has tried to end me and in all my years has never succeeded," and Draco saw the same look he remembered seeing on the man's face in their first lesson… That look that Harry told him about, ancient and powerful, "My name is Merlin, son of Hunith, servant and counsel to King Arthur of Camelot, the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth. I am the last Dragonlord, I am Emrys, the immortal one. I am one thousand five hundred and sixty three years old, and I solemnly swear to you that I'm telling the truth."

Draco couldn't believe his ears…. He didn't know what to think… 

Everyone in the hall burst into fits of laughter, and Draco saw his defense teacher's face fall. "Lionel's" face became stern and serious. Then, without warning, he stormed across the huge room, swung one of the doors to the Great Hall open with alarming strength, and stepped out. The wooden door rebounded off of the stone wall and slammed shut with a bang so loud almost every student in the hall clapped both hands to their ears.

"What's his problem?" Chuckled Blaise.

"I know, right? But the least they could've done was tell us the truth instead of pulling that stunt." Said Pansy.

"He was telling the truth, you know." Said Luna.

"Where'd you read that, the Quibbler?" Said Ron with a laugh of his own.

"Ron, I think we should wait until Lionel comes back." Said Hermione.

"Oh yeah!” Said Blaise, "Because I bet if Hunithson reckons he's Merlin, that must make his _boytoy_ king Arthur right?"

"What the fuck do you mean by that, Blaise?" Harry snapped, much to Draco's shock.

"Woah, calm down, Potter." Said Zabini.

"No, fuck off Blaise. _You_ didn't want to get involved with our investigations of those two, even though you _agreed_ that something was up. And now they've given you an answer you're resorting to thinly veiled homophobia?" Harry spat with a scowl, green eyes flashing.

Blaise actually had the decency to sound chastised.

"Yeah Blaise, that wasn't fair," Pansy punched her friend in the arm, "I'm surprised Draco hasn't kicked you in your wand. Sorry Draco, dear." She addressed the blond.

"Wait, does everyone here know I'm gay?" He asked, temporarily forgetting about Lionel.

Their friends all nodded, and so did Harry, to not stand out too much.

Blaise apologised.

Suddenly, Lionel burst through the doors once more, his robes flowing aggressively behind him.

He stepped onto the raised stone platform at the front of the hall, and revealed an item he was holding.

It was a sword, and Draco could just make out some gold detailing on the blade, marked with runes he couldn't read.

Lionel whistled to the entire hall, loud enough to pass as an ex-military man, and with a glance to Elwyn, thrust the sword into the ground beneath his feet.

Sparks flew as the metal pierced the stone, and every student watched in stunned silence.

"Anyone want to try pulling it out?" Said the blond professor, face red with barely repressed anger.

Suddenly, from opposite Draco, Hermione got to her feet and began walking.

To Draco's surprise, Harry followed.

The two walked straight past the sword, however, and took their places behind the golden owl.

"I believe them." Said Hermione.

"They're telling the truth." Said The Boy Who Lived, the man who defeated Voldemort.

Then, McGonagall approached the same spot.

"Students," she said, "it pains me to think that you all would think your professors would lie to you. He may not be the same as in your textbooks, but Merlin has informed me that while he tried to push the writers of his history in the right direction, they ultimately ignored him. I suppose no one can truly control how they are remembered… Unfortunately I can't think of any way of proving to you that they're being truthful other than my word as your headmistress."

Everyone in the Great Hall exchanged looks, and chatter broke out amongst them, but Ron, Ginny, Pansy, and Blaise all gaped at the two men at the front of the hall. Luna, on the other hand, pulled a battered copy of The Quibbler and two letters from out of her bag, and skipped to the front of the hall.

"Hello everyone," she said, "I'm Luna Lovegood. And this is the fourth ever edition of the Quibbler," she held up the magazine, "it's my favourite, because it tells the story of Merlin and Arthur, which he gave to my dad in an interview," Luna pointed at… At Merlin, who smiled and nodded. Hermione snatched the magazine and began speed-reading it. But Luna just continued speaking, "I even have a photograph of Merlin from that day in 1978." she pulled the photo from the letter. It was A5 sized, and showed a man that looked identical to Merlin, with slightly different hair, winking at the camera. It certainly looked like it was taken in the 70s, and many students exchanged excited whispers. Merlin smiled.

_Oh my God,_ thought Draco, _there's no way_ …

Then, Hermione went wide eyed, and leaned over Luna's shoulder.

"Umm, I can confirm that this article also contains several verifiable anecdotes from throughout the fifteen hundred years Merlin claims to be alive, and the information in the article also matches that which Harry and I read in Merlin's personal letters, of which I have already confirmed to be, err, _suitably_ old…" she stammered out in one sentence.

Draco looked around at the hall, still full of skeptical students giving Merlin and Arthur, _Merlin_ and _Arthur_ , dubious looks.

He stood from his chair, and climbed onto the still empty tables.

"You idiots! That's the _real_ Merlin and Arthur! The evidence is right there! Now show some respect, give them some bloody applause, _and then we can all have breakfast!_ " He shouted throughout the hall.

This seemed to snap the students out of their skepticism. Suddenly they all burst into uproarious applause, shooting Weasley Wizard Wheezes fireworks in the air and clambering on each other's shoulders.

Draco locked eyes with his boyfriend, and smiled.

* * *

Arthur looked out over the overjoyed crowd. They were his people as much as they were Merlin's. He supposed this was the closest he would get to fatherly pride, and he was more than okay with that.

Then he looked over at Merlin, which was a mistake. The warlock was tearing up, enchanting blue eyes turned misty and sparkling, with a helpless grin on his face.

Arthur took a deep breath. He grabbed the sword, the one Merlin named Excalibur, and pulled it from the stone floor, thrusting it up at the false morning sky that was the Great Hall's ceiling.

The crowd ate that up, so Arthur grabbed Merlin by the waist, sword still up high, and pulled him into a kiss.

Merlin flung his arms around Arthur's shoulders, but before long had to break away - forehead to Arthur's - caught between laughing and crying for joy.

Even Minerva allowed the ruckus to continue uninterrupted, smiling warmly at her students.

At that moment, as he saw Harry, Hermione, and Luna being lunged at by their friends - Arthur decided he was okay. More okay than he'd ever been, before he died, before he became king, before he became crown prince, and especially before he met Merlin.

He kissed his partner's forehead, and whispered something in Merlin's ear that made him kiss Arthur with renewed enthusiasm.

"Will you marry me?" He said.

* * *

Harry was ambushed by Pansy, Blaise, and Draco. The six of them laughed and cheered with the crowd.

They felt beyond words, almost. And as Harry succumbed to the spell of the crowd, he pulled Draco toward him by his robes, and asked him something.

"Can I kiss you?”

Draco, ever a straight-forward kind of man, kissed him by way of an answer.

When they eventually pulled away, it was to choruses of "I knew it!"s from their respective friends.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Said Hermione.

"Take care of him, Draco." Said Ginny, with a wink.

"Your unrequited crush wasn't so one-sided after all then." Said Pansy, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Well now I feel  _ really _ bad for what I said earlier…" Said Blaise, giving an apologetic look to the couple.

"I wondered why you two kept leaving together all the time." Was Neville's reaction.

Ron just clapped Draco on the back.

"I probably should've mentioned I've seen Harry staring at  _ your _ arse as well!" He said with a laugh.

"As well?” said Harry, giving Draco a raised eyebrow. Draco shrugged, he was guilty as charged.

Luna cleared her throat.

"Congratulations, boys! You know, I've discovered something about myself recently as well. I've been doing some research with Muggle youths, and they have this label that I think suits me very well. I think I'm nonbinary!" She finished with a flourish.

"Oh! I know that one,” said Harry, "Congrats Luna! You gonna change your pronouns at all?”

Luna seemed to consider his question for a moment.

"Not at the moment, but I'll let you know if I change my mind." She said with a smile.

Ginny gave her best friend a tight hug and congratulated her.

"So can I still call you girly things?” she asked.

"Suppose it depends, as 'girly' is subjective, but in general I'd rather you ask me first." Said Luna, and the whole group nodded in acknowledgement.

Neville was staring at his own shuffling feet.

"You alright there, Nev?" Asked Harry.

Neville didn't answer for a moment. But then he took a deep breath and told them all what was on his mind.

"I'm asexual!" He confessed, "and also aromantic, I think." He looked up at the group to gauge their reactions.

Ron, Pansy, Ginny, and Blaise gave him a thumbs up and a supportive smile. Luna smiled and said she was happy she'd given him the courage to come out.

"I'm glad you could tell us!" Said Hermione.

"Good for you, mate!" Said Harry, offering Neville a high five, which he took happily.

Draco also high-fived the herbology enthusiast.

"I'm happy you found a label that makes you comfortable," he said, "and while we're all being honest. Neville, I never apologised for your Remembrall, or for all the… well, bullying… and we should probably talk more… I feel like I barely know you, even though I'd like to consider you my friend now."

Neville smiled at him.

"It's ok, that was ages ago. You've more than made up for it since. But if you ever want to talk about herbology, I'm your man! Did you know green is a colour commonly associated with aromantics? It's because it's on our flag!" He explained with enthusiasm.

"Nice,” said Harry, he was so proud of Neville and Luna. That must've taken so much courage… At least Harry had Draco to support him. Was Harry being supportive enough? He hoped so. It wasn't like he'd had very good teachers in that department.

Draco put his arm around Harry's shoulders, and he gave the man a smile.

Once the crowd finally calmed down (thanks to McGonagall), everybody settled back into their seats for the most eventful breakfast of the year.

Harry really hoped he did well on his NEWTs, but ultimately he was just glad for another year with friends, both old and new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm on time!!! Yay!  
> And it's the last chapter 😊  
> I've said this to a few commenters but I'm just gonna say it here to make sure everyone gets the memo:  
> I'm taking a break from this series for a while, to focus on a different fic that I've been neglecting for over a year, called Guns, Ships, and Tyrants (it's a Merlin fic)  
> I want to thank everyone who's left comments or kudos on this work, and the people who've been there since my last fic, seeing that my fic was enjoyed by so many people really helped motivate me to write more 💛 you guys are the best.  
> I do still have plans for this series don't worry, it's not over yet 😉 I'll just be taking a break for a bit 😊  
> I hope you enjoyed this fic from start to finish, I know I enjoyed writing.

**Author's Note:**

> Fuck jk Rowling.


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